November 11, 2018 – Thoughts from Rev Kev

As we reflect on the many men and women who have and are serving our country to protect and provide safety, I wanted to invite us to share information on the power of the Prayer to Saint Michael.
Facing the many challenges in our world and Church there are many unanswered questions, frustration, fear and anger. We can worry…..We can Blame…..We can Question…..We can become despondent at the many issues with the church to the many acts of senseless violence. The fact is that we have lost our overall focus to become as Holy as the Heavenly Father is Holy. November began with the feast of All Saints when we were asked to reflect on how each of us, like all of the Saints, can find the Mercy, Love and Grace from that Loving Father! Let us all become Childlike and return to that simple purity of heart focusing on the love of Christ and neighbor!
So can a prayer be inspired by a battle? Pope Leo XIII wrote the Saint Michael prayer in 1884 after supposedly seeing a frightening vision: evil spirits, trying to fulfill Satan’s boast to destroy our Lord’s church within a century, were engaging in fierce attacks against it. Although the Pontiff also saw Saint Michael casting Satan (also known as the devil) and his de-mons back in the Hell in his vision, he was so horrified by what he had seen he felt compelled to help de-fend our faith in this struggle.
In the Saint Michael prayer he throws down the gaunt-let to the “the Father of lies” as Jesus calls the devil in John’s Gospel (8:44), by enlisting the help of a very special Archangel:
Saint Michael the Archangel defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Divine Power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Prayer of Saint Michael at the Mass—In 1886 Pope Leo XIII decreed that this prayer to Saint Michael be said at the end of mass throughout the universal Church, however in 1970 this changed because of the new rite of the Mass. Our beloved Saint John Paul II in 1994 urged Catholic to recite this prayer to Saint Michael again. So I am asking that as we continue to work, listen and build our communities of the Mid Mon Valley that we engage the intercession of Saint Michael in our Liturgy.